1. Field of the Invention
The invention involves a polyatomic gas laser pumped by means of a radio frequency (RF) generator of electromagnetic radiation (EMR). Of particular interest is a CO.sub.2 -He-Xe laser which produces radiation in the far infrared band from 8-12 microns. The term RF as used herein will usually cover a frequency band from 1 to 300 megahertz.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A typical prior art structure is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,537,030, "Gas Laser Device with Means for Indicating Optimum Discharge Conditions", granted Oct. 27, 1970 to L. P. Dorbec et al. This patent discloses a gas laser of the type indicated above, which is pumped by an RF transverse electric field. An improvement on this type of laser is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,373,202, "RF Excited Waveguide Gas Laser" granted Feb. 8, 1983 to Katherine D. Laakmann et al. This patent employs a more efficient longitudinal electric field generating electrode structure of interdigitated fingers attached to the optical waveguide wall.